_ The single most important decision made by a bride and groom in regards to their wedding day is the location.  Without a location, it is difficult to make any of the other decisions they need to make.  Madison County Tourism today announced a great way to help brides and grooms make that decision with its inaugural bridal bus tour. 
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Kelly Stremmel Photography
_On Sunday April 29, 2012 Madison County Tourism will treat engaged couples to a day of fun, as they travel to eight unique wedding venues across Madison County in luxury limo transportation.  The day will allow the happy couples to compare and contrast the locations and help them choose the perfect location to hold their ceremony or reception.

The tour will start in two locations, Oneida and Cazenovia, and the limos will spread out across the county to show off the historic, picturesque venues that make Madison County weddings so special.  Engaged couples will have the chance to visit the Oneida Community Mansion House, the Greystone Castle, Brae Loch Inn, Lincklaen House, Colgate Inn, Hamilton Inn and White Eagle Conference Center among others.  Catering and banquet staffs will be on hand at every location to talk about set ups, food, music and pricing.  Brides and grooms will also be able to meet with photographers, florists, disc jockeys, cake bakers, favor makers and other essential vendors.

Weddings are an important part of the marketing strategy for tourism in Madison County.  Each year they partner on a bridal guide and attend wedding shows.  They also have a dedicated wedding micro-site to help promote wedding venues and vendors.

Madison County Tourism executive director Jim Walter says weddings are big business.  “When someone chooses our venues for their reception there is a compounding effect on local businesses.  They may also set up a rehearsal dinner; hire a florist, photographer and disc jockey that are local.  It extends beyond the reception site, families, and the wedding party and guests all book hotel rooms.  While they are in town they visit local shops, restaurants and attractions.  The more weddings we can book in Madison County, the stronger our economy will be.”

One of the most heard comments from brides at wedding shows was that they’d love to check out Madison County locations like the Mansion House or Colgate Inn, but they just didn’t know when they’d find the time.  This tour aims to remove that barrier.  Eight venues in one day, a fun tour of the county in a limo or limo bus and access to a wide variety of vendors will make this time well spent for brides and grooms.

Tickets for the tour are limited to the first 50 couples and can be purchased online at www.madisontourism.com/weddings.  Interested couples or vendors can also call 800-684-7320 for more information.
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The Madison Bouckville Antique Week will continue with its 40th year.  This year’s show week will be   August 15-21, 2011.

Madison Bouckville Promotions, the newly formed community wide organization whose purpose is to promote tourism and travel in the Madison County Region will be holding a press event on Thursday June 2, 2011 in Madison / Bouckville, NY at 2:30 pm to unveil the new format and continuation of the historic annual Madison Bouckville Antique Week festival held the third week of August the last 39 years. 

Antique Week organizers, working with local businesses, the Madison County Tourism Office and local government leaders will discuss the shows growth to over 2100 vendors and dealers, and the expanded days the event will run.  The Madison Bouckville Antique Week is New York State’s largest outdoor antique event.

Assemblyman Bill Magee, Association President John Mancino and a special guest will review this year’s event and the economic impact that the weeklong show brings to the region.

Press Event

Location- 7698 Rt. 20, Bouckville, NY 13310 (Look for TEXACO sign)

Time- 2:30 pm

Contact- Jim Walter- Madison County Tourism                                                 800-684-7320

    Dennis Brogan- Madison Bouckville Antique Week   315-382-4437

    John Mancino- Madison Bouckville Antique Week     315-427-5094
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What better way is there to spend a Friday, then hitting the links and playing in a golf tournament?  Registration is now open for foursomes who would like to play in the annual Emerald City Classic Golf Tournament on Friday June 3, 2011 at Woodcrest Golf Course.

The tournament kicks off the annual Oz-Stravaganza! weekend and features 18 holes of golf with a 9:00 am shotgun start.  Players will have the opportunity to win $10,000 by hitting a hole in one, and many other prizes will be up for grabs at the tournament.  The golfing will be followed by a buffet lunch, silent auction, raffles and more. 

The proceeds from this year’s tournament will go to support the on-going Oz-Stravaganza! activities and to help promote tourism in Madison County.  Madison County Tourism, Inc. is proud to partner with the Oz-Stravaganza! committee to host the 2011 Emerald City Classic.  People travel from across the country to Chittenango to celebrate the life and works of our native son, L. Frank Baum.  Oz-Stravaganza! is part of an overall great summer of events in Madison County. 

Tourism is one of the largest industries in New York State and provides employment opportunities for over 3,000 of our residents. Visitors to Madison County spent over $73 million in the county last year and the tourism industry contributed over $4.5 million in taxes to the county     coffers.  The tourism industry saves the average tax paying household $150 each year in county taxes.

Cost to participate is $65 a person and $260 for the entire foursome.  Registration forms may be downloaded at www.oz-stravaganza.com or you can call Madison County Tourism at 315-684-7320 to register as well. 

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Courtesy Auntie El's Video and Photography
Weddings are big business in Madison County and in an effort to secure more of that business; Madison County Tourism launched their new wedding micro-site today.  The site can be found here.

The micro-site acts as a portal to help the bride-to-be find the necessary resources for their wedding day.  It features venues and services that cater to brides who either live in Madison County or are planning a wedding here.  “It is an effort to help connect businesses in Madison County that specialize in weddings with women who are planning to tie the knot,” said Jim Walter of Madison County Tourism.  “It gives us an opportunity to connect our member businesses to a very lucrative customer.”

The micro-site will be supported by targeted advertising on local and national websites from Syracuse.com to Facebook, along with appearances at select wedding shows and print advertising.    “The growth of social media has allowed for us to target engaged women much more effectively thereby enhancing the usefulness of a site like this,” Walter said.  

The web effort is being complemented by the first ever printed edition of a Madison County Wedding Guide, which should be published by the end of January.  

With the average cost of a wedding at nearly $20,000, Madison County Tourism is making a stronger effort to bring more of that business into the county, according to Walter.  He explains that since families are more spread out today and DWI laws are so strict weddings often mean a large number of hotel rooms sold in a community.  “We are blessed in Madison County with outstanding venues.  You can get married in a Ramada that looks like every other Ramada around the world, or you can have your special day in a living museum, a New England country inn or an historic mansion.  We really do have unique, elegant venues in this county,” said Walter.

The site and ad campaign was designed by ABC Creative Group (www.abccreativegroup.com) in Syracuse which has been the agency of record for Madison County Tourism, Inc. for the past six years. 

Madison County Tourism, Inc. is the official tourism promotion agency for Madison County.  It has over 200 member businesses and is headquartered in Morrisville, NY.  For more information visit them on the web at www.madisontourism.com.

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The folks at escapemaker.com have their fall agritourism webisode up and running and again Madison County is prominently featured.  They traveled to Critz Farms, Golub's Our Farm, the Great Swamp Conservancy, BMR Acres and the Lincklaen House for their fall trip here.  Check out the video, but you'll have to jump to the 5:30 mark to see the Madison County segment.
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(Morrisville) – Visitors to Madison County spent a record $71.7 million in 2008, an increase of 1.5%.  This bucked national trends that saw a decrease in visitor spending last year according to the annual study released by Tourism Economics.  The tourism industry in the county also accounted for over $9 million in payroll, property, occupancy and sales taxes to state and local governments. 
The study, commissioned by the New York State Department of Economic Development, showed that Madison County’s tourism industry accounted for over $33 million in payrolls employing 1,684 people.  Tourism related businesses contributed more than $4.5 million to Madison County’s coffers in tax revenue in the form of sales, occupancy and property taxes.  Madison County Tourism, Inc. Executive Director Jim Walter says those are very important numbers, “The tourism industry in Madison County saves the average household $175 a year in property taxes.  If visitors were to stop coming and spending money in our hotels, restaurants and stores, it would be very detrimental to the county budget and to our household budgets.”
Visitors to Madison County spent their money over a wide range of items; $13 million was spent in area hotels on lodging, $2.7 million on recreation, $25 million on food and beverage sales, $14 million on shopping, $2.8 million on transportation and over $12 million was spent on second homes and camps.  Walter says those numbers prove how valuable the tourism industry is to this county, “We have very unique inns, B&B’s, restaurants and attractions in Madison County, and that benefits us from a quality of life standpoint and also from the standpoint that people love to come here and visit.  To see an increase in visitor spending in a year where gas prices were through the roof and the stock market was tumbling is very encouraging and it shows our industry is on a good track.” 
Walter also says 2009 should be a challenging year with the economy still struggling, but there is hope for the industry.  “I think that if we can get some stabilizing economic news, some signs that we are headed towards recovery, this vacation season can still be strong.  There is tremendous value in the vacation market right now, and people stayed home last year because of gas prices, so I do believe that we have an opportunity to shine if the economy can stabilize.” 
Madison County is home to wonderful festivals and over 40 B&B’s and Country Inns.  Reserve your vacation today at www.madisontourism.com

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